Sussex 190 for 8 (Hughes 74, Douthwaite 2-31) lost against Glamorgan 235 for 6 (Carlson 87, Mills 4-29) by a margin of 24 runs (DLS method).
In the Vitality Blast this season, Glamorgan defeated Sussex Sharks by 24 runs at Hove using the DLS technique, earning just their third victory overall.
The visitors blasted 81 on the powerplay when Sussex mishandled the new ball, which was often given by Ollie Robinson, who was unavailable due to a back ailment. This set the stage for the visitors to score a massive 235 for 6, the third-highest in their Blast history.
It’s questionable if even Robinson could have contained Kiran Carlson, the captain of Glamorgan, who struck a career-high 87 off 47 balls before being caught at extra cover in the 19th over. Tymal Mills, the leader of Sussex, took four wickets in the over, and is currently leading the league in wicket-taking with 19.
Despite finishing second in the South Group, Sussex suffered their third defeat of the season after falling short of an unlikely 79 from 28 deliveries after a 50-minute rain delay. Daniel Hughes spearheaded Sussex’s response with 74 off 38 balls, his fourth half-century in the competition.
After Glamorgan was put in, Carlson and company set the tone by hammering 75 in the first five overs, including 60 boundaries. Mills’ excellent slower ball, which Will Smale dragged to midwicket after he had smashed eight fours and a six in a stand of 79 from only 33 balls, was required to halt their momentum. To keep up their pace, Carlson then scored 72 off 37 with Tom Bevan and 47 off 24 with Colin Ingram.
Mills was the only bowler for Sussex to give up fewer than 10 runs in an over during the first half of the innings, and his mood did not get any better when Tom Clark failed to take a catch on the midwicket boundary that Bevan had offered and dropped the ball over the rope.
With 194 runs scored after 15 overs, Glamorgan may have expected to make a score of 250 or more, but Sussex, led by Mills, pulled it back a little by capturing four wickets and giving up just 39 in the last five overs.
Leading the way was Mills, who finished at 4 for 29, after Ingram dropped a straight blow and Marnus Labuschagne drove to mid-on. Carlson hit three sixes and nine fours, but Mills’ slower ball, which was his strength, got the better of him with a century in sight.
After losing Harrison Ward in the second over, Australians Hughes and Clark—another left-hander—added 55 in 27 balls to keep Sussex’s challenge alive. Sussex needed to score at nearly 12 an over.
However, leg-spinner Mason Crane, who came on in the seventh over and took two wickets in his first three deliveries, made an immediate impression. After James Coles lost his middle stump by throwing it across the line, Clark was stumped after missing a googly.
After Hughes and John Simpson shared 49 off 31 balls in the 12th over, Simpson’s failure to clear long-on raised the required rate to 14.75. When play resumed at 10.10 p.m., Hughes hammered two sixes from Chris Sole, but he then holed out to deep backward-square, virtually ending Sussex’s chances.